Solar Flare
by Screensaver
Summary: Based on the reimagined universe.The Battlestar Solaris returns from its daily drill practise when the Cylons attack the Twelve Colonies. New chapter added.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

The Twelve Colonies of Kobol had enjoyed forty years of peace. Before these forty years there was a bloody and brutal war that lasted a decade. The Twelve Colonies of humankind fought against their creation- the robotic Cylons. The humans had initially created the Cylons to carry out tasks that they would rather not do. But they were eventually used as instruments of war as the Twelve Colonies fought each other.

When the Cylons became self-aware they stopped fighting each other and turned on their creators. The human colonies were forced to fight alongside one another to ensure the survival of their race. The Cylons were gradually beaten down by the alliance of the Twelve Colonies and decided to flee the solar system that housed the twelve planets.

After the war the Colonies settled their differences and. The whole structure of their livelihood was radically changed. Gone were the times when each colony fended for itself. Gone were the times of hatred, jealousy and bitterness between the planets. A new civilian government was set up where all of the twelve tribes were represented. A President was elected to control the government. The armed forces of the different tribes united under one banner to form the Colonial Fleet. The capital ships of the fleet were called Battlestars, and it was their job to patrol the solar system in case the Cylons ever decided to return...


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

A young man hurtled through space at five hundred miles an hour. He sat at the helm of a state-of-the-art Colonial mark seven viper. This was a small one manned fighter craft shaped like a silver arrow and was one of the Colonial Fleets most recent achievements.

The man sighed deeply into his flight helmet - causing a small patch of condensation to appear. This was not the re-assignment he had been hoping for - he had too much on his mind. Lieutenant Robin Giles was a short, stocky young man with red hair and sky blue eyes. He was in no mood to be transferred from one Battlestar to another after he'd just gotten word that his fiancé had died.

At the age of twenty five some might have said that Giles was too young to have settled down. But as far as Giles was concerned, he loved Katrina and he wanted more than anything else to marry her. That was a simple enough reason. He didn't have to explain himself to anyone.

Giles had been serving on the Battlestar Solaria for two years. And in those two years he had gotten to know most of the crew and his fellow officers and felt like part of a large family. It was a great feeling. It was an environment he was comfortable. It was like a home away from home.

His world turned upside down when he had been told of his fiancés death. She died in a mid air collision between two transport spacecraft. She had been travelling to the colony of Virgon to stay with her parents before the wedding when the other spacecraft collided with hers. The resulting explosion killed the crew and passengers of both craft. The fact that the transport ships failed to see each other remained a mystery to those that investigated the crash. But Giles didn't care about the reasons. All he cared about was the fact that his fiancé had died leaving him with a deep sense of emptiness.

His friends on the Solaria supported him initially, but he gradually withdrew from those around him. As he saw them interact with each other, laughing and joking, it only made him feel more isolated.

He still hadn't recovered from the first blow when he received a second: he was being transferred to the Battlestar Solaris. This had nothing to do with his personal situation. It was the Colonial Fleet shifting crew and officers between ships, as they do every so often, to keep up manpower and resources.

This was no comfort to Giles. In his depressive state he began to feel that he was being stripped of everything that he held dear.

He was completely lost in his thoughts when a buzz sounded from his dradis console. Giles looked down at the dradis screen. It showed a single contact: the Battlestar Solaris, his new home from home.

As he flew on, the massive Battlestar came into view. The Colonial Battlestar was roughly the shape of a whale. It had a large nose cone at the front; a box shaped main body and eight cylindrical shaped engines at the back. On either side of the ship were flight pods that extended from the main body of the ship. The ship was grey-brown in colour and nearly every inch of the hull was covered in ridges and grooves.

The ship grew bigger still as he approached when the intercom in his helmet buzzed to life.

"Viper two-seven-zero, this is Solaris, approach starboard landing bay, auto land, speed one-zero-one, checker is red, call the ball."

The voice was clear but monotonous. Already the Solaris sounded like a boring place.

"Copy that, Solaris, I have the ball," replied Giles - sounding equally bored.

He flew his Viper into the aft end of the starboard flight pod and lowered his speed. On his approach to the pod he saw the landing guidance lights spring into action.

As Giles flew inside the flight pod, the bored voice sounded in his helmet once more:

"Viper two-seven-zero, transfer control to Solaris auto land system, over?"

Giles pressed a button on his control panel that switched the control of his craft over to the Solaris auto pilot.

"Copy that, Solaris, auto land system activated."

And with that, Giles relaxed in his seat and waited for the Solaris computer to land his viper on the red-checkered landing pad. The Viper touched down on the pad with the slightest jolt and powered down automatically.

The Landing Signal Officer (L.S.O) announced Giles' arrival by saying: "Skids down, mag locks secured."

He then spoke directly to Giles: "On behalf of the Solaris I'd like to welcome you aboard, Spitfire."

Giles snorted maybe a bit too loudly but managed to recover by saying: "Copy that, Solaris."

The elevator pad that he had landed on began lowering him into the hangar deck below the landing bay. The artificial gravity kicked in - making everything feel heavier.

When the elevator pad reached the hangar deck, Giles remained in his seat while a tractor towed him into a clear bay in the main hangar area. A deckhand pushed some steps alongside Giles' Viper and climbed up to help him lift the canopy. She then helped him to take off his helmet and spacesuit collar-ring.

As this was just part of procedure, Giles ignored the deckhand until he stepped out of the cockpit and caught her eye. She was a strikingly attractive brunette with a kind face, blue eye - like his, and a well proportioned physique. She smiled at him a he climbed down the steps.

Oh great, Giles thought to himself sarcastically.

He could still feel her eyes on him as he was greeted by the Chief Petty Officer.

"Afternoon, sir," said the man as he saluted, "Chief Raymond. I'm the crew chief aboard the Solaris."

Chief Raymond was about a head taller than Giles. He had neatly cut brown hair and matching stubble. His orange and black jump suit was stretched a little over his slightly chubby build.

"Afternoon, chief," said Giles, saluting back. "Lieutenant Robin Giles."

"So I hear you're the one that got reassigned from the Solaria," said the Chief.

"Yeah, that's me," Giles said roughly.

He began to walk away from his Viper towards the access hatch to E-deck at the other side of the hangar bay. The Chief followed.

"I also hear you've got quite a résumé behind you," he said, keeping pace beside Giles.

"Perfect score in nine out of ten war games. The CAG's pretty excited to see what you can do in the next training session."

Giles wondered if the chief would ask for his autograph next.

"And sir?"

"Yes, Chief?" said Giles, stopping and turning to face him.

"Watch out for some of the pilots, they're a bit rough on new kids."

"Oh, really?" said Giles, sounding amused. "Any particular one I should watch out for?"

"Captain Luteford," said the Chief.

"I reckon I'm gonna enjoy the drill brief," said Giles. "Thankyou Chief, that'll be all."

They saluted each other and went their separate ways. The Chief returned to his post to oversee the maintenance of a malfunctioning engine. Giles walked past the numerous Vipers, the whirring of drills and the clanging of hammers, and reached the access hatch to E-deck.

* * *

Two Battlestars, ten Cylon Base-stars. A flash of light. Screams of terror and pain. Then nothing. Nothing but black, empty space. Then something stirs in the distance. A red eye moving back and forth, getting closer and closer and closer…

Commander Brown woke with a start. He sat up in his bunk and wiped the cold sweat off his brow. He looked around his private quarters. Everything was where he left it. His uniform jacket was hanging off the back of his chair. The book he was reading was still on his desk, and there was a bowl of half finished pasta on his coffee table.

He got up and walked into the washroom. He stopped when he reached the sink and filled it up with cold water. He splashed water over his face a few time and then stared at his reflection in the mirror.

He saw a man in his late fifties, with greying brown hair and a goatee staring back at him. Commander Brown had the appearance of a muscular man gone slightly to seed. His arms were still large and powerful, but his stomach was round. He had steely blue eyes that were usually under a pair of glasses. His face gave the impression that he could give a charming smile or a cold, unnerving frown.

Commander Brown was the Battlestar Solaris' Commanding Officer, and he was expected in C.I.C to oversee the daily drill practise.

The C.I.C (Combat Information Centre) was the nerve centre of the Battlestar. It controlled flight and combat operations and was located deep within the ship for maximum protection.

Brown drained the sink, glanced at his reflection once more and then strode out of the washroom. He went to his desk chair, picked up his uniform jacket and put it on. After buttoning it up, he went over to the access hatch to his cabin. The hatch slid open automatically to reveal the corridor outside. Brown stepped out of his cabin and set off to C.I.C, the hatch closing behind him as he went.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

_Solaris, _C.I.C

When Commander Brown stepped into C.I.C he was still struggling to shake out any thought of the dream he just had. The dream was not just Browns overactive imagination, it actually happened.

Brown first served on a Battlestar when was nineteen, some forty years ago. This was the last year of the ten year Cylon War. He was serving as a crew specialist and was the greenest of the green. In a crucial battle, Brown made a fatal mistake. He transmitted the wrong co-ordinates to two other colonial Battlestars. This mistake resulted in sending them straight into the Cylon fleet and to their ultimate destruction. The guilt of sending four thousand men and women to their deaths had weighed heavily upon him ever since, but he never let it get the better of him. Still, the dream had spooked him.

The C.I.C was buzzing with activity. There were about forty crewmembers in the huge room. The overhead monitors in the centre of the room were whirring, consoles where buzzing and flashing, and every station was occupied.

Commander Brown took a deep breath to ensure that the mask of his command was still in place. He was greeted by the ships Executive Officer (XO), Colonel Steven Meredith. The Colonel was a tall, slim and surly looking man with short brown hair. Brown got on fairly well with the XO, but they had been known to disagree on certain things. One of these things would be how many training exercises should be done each day. Brown was slightly more reasonable with his crew because he hated drills with a passion. But the XO was completely the opposite – he loved them.

"How long is it before the drill?" Brown asked, having lost track of time.

"Forty five minutes, sir," answered the Colonel.

Brown glanced up at the overhead monitors, hoping to see anything of interest. Colonel Meredith began pacing around the centre of C.I.C, watching all the stations in a hawk like fashion.

Brown was approached by the Officer of the Watch, Lieutenant Kurian Talus. Talus was a young man with dark skin and a serious looking face. He was a dedicated officer and Brown was proud to have him on his Battlestar. Brown turned to face the Lieutenant as he briefed him on the days various Comm. traffic.

"Anything else, Lieutenant?" asked Brown after a lengthy brief.

"Just one more thing, sir," Talus replied.

"What is it?"

"It's a message form Fleet Headquarters. It seems that the Courier Officer hasn't returned from his trip to the Armistice Station and they want status reports on all FTL capable ships. Looks like they want someone to jump out their an investigate."

_Oh great. The Armistice Station is the only thing more boring than drills._

The Armistice Station was a remote station in deep space, far away from the twelve colonies star system. It was a place where Human and Cylon were supposed to meet once a year to maintain some form of diplomatic relations after the Cylon War. But after the first year the Cylons never bothered to show up. Since then, no one had seen or heard from them, but the Colonials still sent an officer to the station once a year.

"Send a status report on our FTL," Brown ordered. "But if they want us to go then they'll just have to wait."

"Aye, sir," Talus said. He strode over the Comm. station to give the order before returning to his post.

* * *

_Solaris, _Squadron Ready Room

Giles sat alone in the Ready Room. He deliberately showed up early for the drill briefing so he could get some more time to himself.

The Squadron Ready Room was shaped like a small theatre. There was a stage platform at the front which had numerous computer screens behind it. On the platform was a lectern with a protruding microphone. The seats were tiered and were cushioned with red leather. Giles was seated at the centre of the first row.

The entrance hatch behind the last row of seats opened. Giles turned round in his seat to see three male pilots enter the room. The first was a tall, slim coloured man with a easy going look about him. The second was a short guy with dark brown hair, and the third was the tallest out of the three, and had dark blond hair and brown eyes.

They were talking excitedly as they strode into the room. They didn't notice Giles until they were halfway down the aisle between the wall and the seats.

"Man, what a game!" said the first to the others. "I would've won if you hadn't of got full colours –," he stopped as he noticed Giles. "Oh look boys, it's the new pilot."

"Someone's on the ball today," said Giles sarcastically as he rose from his seat.

"Snappy comeback," said the first pilot. "He's my kind of guy."

He stopped in front of Giles, with the other two behind him.

"Matt Calloway," he said extending his hand.

"Robin Giles," said Giles, taking Calloway's hand and shaking it.

"This here is Ensign Rodgers," said Calloway, pointing at the second pilot, "and this is Ensign -"

"Farrow," finished the third pilot.

Calloway for a moment looked slightly annoyed, but the he laughed.

"Now see, that's a prime example of the insolence of the younger pilots," Calloway said to Giles as he sat down in one of the chairs on the front row. Giles, Rodgers and Farrow sat down with him. "It's our job as Lieutenants to _beat_ them into shape."

"Ow!" said Farrow as Calloway slapped him on the back of the head.

For the first time in what seemed years, Giles found himself laughing. But the question would surely come, and it did:

"So what did you do to get yourself transferred here, Lieutenant?" asked Rodgers.

"Nothing," Giles shrugged, trying to keep his emotions in check.

For a moment, Calloway looked slightly confused at Giles' reaction to the question, but then he changed the direction of the conversation.

"So, are you one for drills?" he asked.

"No, not really," said Giles. "Why?"

"Well, someone who shows up early for a drill brief is either mad – or he loves drills."

Giles snorted. As he did, the hatch at the back of the room opened again, and the rest of the squadron filed in and began taking their seats. The room was now buzzing with several conversations.

"So, did you see the deckhand?" Calloway asked with a smile and a wink.

"I saw a lot of deckhands today," said Giles without the slightest idea of what Calloway was talking about.

"Smart," said Calloway with a laugh, "But seriously, did you notice any deckhand in particular?"

Giles understood where Calloway was going with this. His thoughts went back to the deckhand who couldn't keep her eyes off him when he first landed.

"Now that you mention it," said Giles, scratching the back of his head, "I did."

"Was it the cute brunette?"

"Yeah," said Giles.

"So what do you think of her?"

_What is this? High school?_

Giles shrugged his shoulders. "She's alright."

He knew full well that she was more than 'alright', but he was trying not to think about her. His dead fiancé was constantly on his mind, but she was now being replaced by a girl that Giles' had only seen once. He couldn't let it happen. Not yet.

"She's 'alright'?" said Calloway, looking surprised, "She's more than just 'alright'!"

"Does _she_ have a name?"

"Yeah, _she's_ called Helena. You'd better watch out though, she's the XO's daughter."

"What're you warning me for? You're not planning on setting me up with her or something?" asked Giles.

"No, nothing like that," said Calloway, but he didn't drop his shifty grin. "Consider it a little friendly advice."

Just then, Ensign Farrow caught Calloway's attention. "Hey Matt," he said. "Look who's here."

He pointed at the access hatch at the back of the room. Calloway and Giles looked around to see a short, stocky young man with blond hair and cold, blue eyes, step into the room.

"Who's that?" Giles asked Calloway.

"Only the biggest frakkin' idiot on the whole ship," said Calloway, as he stared at the man with intense dislike. When the man settled himself on the back row of seats, Calloway and Giles turned round. Ensign Farrow and Ensign Rodgers looked disappointed. Their faces were eager with anticipation until Calloway turned round.

"_His_ name," Calloway hissed, "is Captain Luteford."

"Oh so _that's_ Captain Luteford," said Giles, turning in his seat again to get a better look at him. And as he did, Luteford stared straight back, looking completely unimpressed. Giles turned away.

"How come you've heard of him already?" Calloway asked.

"Oh, Chief Raymond warned me about him," Giles replied.

"I don't blame him. Luteford's an asshole. He thinks he's better than everyone else just because he's Captain, and he sucks up to the XO all the time. Frak me, they'll be announcing their engagement any day soon."

"It's that bad, is it?" Giles asked.

"No, it gets worse," said Calloway. "Luteford's been getting a little friendly with the XO's daughter, and the XO is just letting it happen. But the thing is Helena isn't interested. Anyway, Colonel Meredith is allowing it to happen in order to get Luteford to report back on what goes on in the squadron."

"This ship has got some serious trust issues," said Giles. "How'd you find out about this?"

"I heard them in the XO's quarters. The door was open, and me being a nosy bastard, I listened in. I heard enough to guess what was going on."

"Why does the XO want reports on what goes on in the squadron?"

"Well," said Calloway, retaining his shifty grin, "Lets just say the XO disapproves of certain loose cannons like me. According to him, there's not a single line that I haven't crossed since I've been on the Solaris, and I'm apparently encouraging others to do the same."

"And he thinks that the CAG is too soft on you," added Ensign Rodgers.

"So let me get this straight," said Giles. "The XO wants reports on misconduct in the squadron, in exchange for Luteford getting friendly with his daughter?"

"Glad you've caught on so fast," said Calloway, patting Giles on the shoulder. "So as nice as Helena is, I'd stay away from her."

"I'll bear that in mind."

"ATTENTION ON DECK!" somebody shouted. The whole room fell silent and everybody stood to attention. The CAG had arrived to start the briefing.

The CAG – or Commander of the Air Group – was the Solaris' senior pilot. It was the CAG's job to see that all of the flying squadrons carried out the orders of the Commander correctly and efficiently. The CAG was also expected to enforce the rules and keep the pilots disciplined. The CAG of the Solaris, Captain Jonathon "Striker" Young, looked well suited for the job. He was powerfully built, his face was stern and serious, and he had a commanding presence.

When Captain Young reached the stage, he turned to face the squadron. "As you were," he said gruffly. The squadron sat down.

He placed his briefing sheets on the lectern and began the brief.

"Alright boys and girls, we only have a short time before the drill actually starts, so I'll be a quick as possible. Firstly I'd like to welcome the newest member of the Solaris airway, Lieutenant Robin Giles."

Some of the squadron clapped, some of them stood up to get a better look, and some of them made calls of welcome. But some, like Captain Luteford, remained silent.

"Now Mr. Giles, you're gonna witness first hand what this squadron is capable of. Now this might only be a drill but I still expect everyone to give one hundred and ten percent. I don't want any frakkin' around. Here's the deal: The drill consists of three parts, but seeming as the first part doesn't involve us, I say that it consist of two parts."

A couple of the pilots, including Giles, fought to suppress smirks.

The CAG went on: "Both parts of the drill will be co-ordinated by Mantis and Acer in the Raptor."

The Raptor was a combat co-ordination and tactical strike craft. Three times the size of a viper and shaped like a crouched beetle; it could be used for scouting missions, boarding parties, and relaying communications. In this case, it was being used to co-ordinate the drill.

"The first part of _our_ drill is the wingman routine. All forty Vipers will launch, pair up with their wingman, and take turns in destroying the dummy ordinance that will be fired from the remote space turrets. In other words: Twenty separate runs with a different pair each time. For those of you who don't know who your wingman is, I'll read out the list."

He began to read the list out. Giles was paired up with Captain Luteford.

"Bad luck," whispered Calloway to Giles out of the corner of his mouth.

"The second part of the drill," said the CAG, "is the old favourite, 'the Big Charge'. All forty Vipers will join up together to eliminate the dummy ordinance fired from the space turrets. This is the big test as the four turrets will launch ten missiles. If you do the math I think you'll find it comes to one missile each. Now because we're using live ammunition I want a strict, spread out formation. This formation will consist of two layers - twenty Vipers on the top and twenty on the bottom. When both parts of the drill are complete, we return to the _Solaris_. Are there any Questions?"

Captain Young paused. When no questions came he said: "Alright then, dismissed."


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

_Solaris_, C.I.C

Lieutenant Talus' voice rang out across the ship, accompanied by the ship wide alert buzzer: "Action stations, action stations! Set Condition One throughout the ship!"

The atmosphere in C.I.C was tense. Specialists and Officers alike were rushing around, trying to set Condition One across the ship as quickly as possible. After half a minute of frenzied activity, Lieutenant Talus gave the Commander the update.

"Condition One is set. All decks report ready for action, sir."

"Commence the drill, Lieutenant," said Commander Brown, striding around the Command table in the centre of the room.

* * *

In the darkness of space, the_ Solaris _moved slowly towards its destination. When she approached the four space turrets used for drill practice, she turned and came to a halt. The port side of the ship was now facing the turrets. Across the hull of the ship, cannons swung into position, waiting for the order to open fire…

* * *

In C.I.C, the tactical officers sent out remote signals to activate the space turrets. The task was simple enough. The _Solaris _had to destroy any dummy warheads fired at them with suppression fire from their cannons. They had to keep this up for ten minutes. When the ten minutes were up, the Vipers would be launched and they would perform their part of the drill.

Lieutenant Talus received an update from the tactical officers and then informed the Commander. "Remote turrets online, sir," he said.

* * *

The four, cylindrical space turrets began to open fire. Dummy warheads streamed out of each one, all aimed at the_ Solaris…__

* * *

_

"Incoming warheads closing at one six three mark eight nine!" called Talus from the Navigation post.

"Enemy suppression, fire, all Batteries execute," ordered the Commander.

Colonel Meredith repeated the order on the all-ship microphone: "All batteries, open fire."

* * *

The cannons across the hull of the _Solaris _burst into action. The long range heavy cannons tool aim, fired, and then repeated the process. The rapid fire canons kept a constant stream of deadly fire, raining out towards the inbound warheads.

There were multiple explosions amongst the suppression fire as the warheads were taken out. More missiles came in. Some managed to travel quite far into the cannon fire before exploding, while others missed the ship completely.

Missiles continued to be fired at from the _Solaris_ from the space turrets, and there was still ten minutes before they would stop…

In C.I.C, Brown watched on the overhead D.R.A.D.I.S console as the _Solaris _cannon fire continued to pick off the incoming warheads. He was thankful to have such an efficient crew, but no sooner had he relaxed, Lieutenant Talus issued a warning: "Incoming ordnance!"

One of the warheads had broken through the suppression fire and connected with the _Solaris _hull. As it was just a dummy warhead, there was no explosion. Instead, it shattered on impact. This was no comfort to Brown. Had this been an actual combat situation, and had that missile been a nuke, then the failure of the suppression fire would have had dire consequences.

The cannon fire was so loud that it could be heard from C.I.C in the belly of the ship. The heavy cannons pounded with deep, dull thuds, and the rapid fire cannons rattled continuously like a drum roll.

Colonel Meredith had abandoned his usual patrol of C.I.C and remained rooted to the spot, glaring up at the overhead console.

Ten minutes were counting down…

At the end of the ten minutes, several more warheads had broken through and made contact with the_ Solaris._

"Deactivate turrets," ordered Brown.

The space turrets launched their last payload of missiles before the tactical officers sent a remote signal to take them offline.

"Turrets deactivated, sir!" Talus called.

"Cease fire, all batteries," said Brown.

Once more, Colonel Meredith repeated the order on the all-ship: "All batteries cease firing!"

The continuous rumbling sound in C.I.C stopped, telling Brown that the gunners had obeyed. He paused for a moment, glad that his part was over, and then said: "Launch Vipers!"

Crew specialist, Petty Officer Lynn Symmons repeat the order on the all-ship microphone: "Vipers cleared for launch."

* * *

Giles was one of the forty Viper pilots waiting in their cockpits to be cleared for launch. When the order came, the vipers were pushed into separate launch tubes by deckhands. The deckhands then quickly moved away as the launch tube doors closed.

All that Giles could hear now was the Launch Officer next to his launch tube, running through the launch sequence.

"Spitfire this is shooter, I have control. Stand by." This identical sequence was taking place in thirty nine other launch tubes.

"Viper Two Seven Zero, clear forward," continued the Launch Officer. "Nav con green, interval check…mag cat ready…"

A piston moved forwards and connected with the Vipers undercarriage, preparing to spring it into space. Then, the steel door in front of the viper fell back, revealing the triangular launch tube with an opening to space at the end. Vapour was sucked out as the Launch Officer completed his checklist: "Check door open…thrust positive, and…good luck."

The Launch Officer pressed a button that activated the magnetic catapult.

Giles was suddenly pressed back in his seat as his viper was sent flying through the launch tube and into space.

Vipers appeared either side of him, and together they flew towards the starboard side of the ship. There. They came to a halt, waiting for the 'wingman drill' to commence.

Through the single mass of vipers, Giles saw a single green Raptor emerge from the starboard landing bay. It flew away from the_ Solaris _and towards the turrets. It then stopped halfway between them and moved over to the side – out of the line of fire.

"_C.A.G, this is_ Mantis_,"_ said Lieutenant Thomas' voice from the Raptor. _"You are clear to commence the drill."_

"_Copy that, Mantis," _Captain Young called back. _"Okay, _Hoofer _and _Gunner_, get in position. Wait for _Mantis' _signal and start your run."_

Ensign 'Hoofer' Farrow and Ensign 'Gunner' Rogers positioned their vipers so that they were away from the cluster of thirty eight other vipers and closer to the turrets.

"_Turrets activated," _said Mantis. _"_Hoofer _and _Gunner_, commence your run."_

Giles looked out the side of his cockpit to see the two vipers fire their main burners and shoot past the _Solaris _towards the turrets to take out the missiles being launched. All Giles could do now was to sit in his cockpit and wait for his and Luteford's names to be called out. Not very enjoyable, but at least now he had a bit more time to himself. He was lost in his thoughts about his fiancés funeral when a woman with long brown hair and a disarming smile crept to the front of his mind – the deckhand, Helena Meredith.

Giles frowned._ You don't even know her you frakkin' idiot. _

To Giles' annoyance, Mantis in the Raptor had saved him and Luteford until last. _"Turrets reactivated,"_ said Mantis, _"Spitfire, Griller, start your run."_

Giles and Luteford sped away from the motionless group of vipers who had completed their runs, and accelerated towards the space turrets.

As they approached, they veered away from each other, and began to shoot at the missiles that had just been launched. This required complete concentration as it was extremely difficult to shoot down a warhead with machine cannons.

Giles squeezed the trigger on his joystick, letting loose a burst of cannon fire. One missile exploded. Two more to go…

He saw brought the nearest missile into his sights; let loose another burst, and the missile disintegrated.

The last missile was way too close. In fact, it was heading straight for him. Giles made full use of his manoeuvring thrusters to roll and swerve out of the missiles flight path. The warhead might only be a dummy, but it could still do the viper some damage if it hit.

Giles span his viper around, so he was facing the_ Solaris_, and chased after the missile, spraying cannon fire as he went. He was nearly at top speed when his cannon fire finally connected with the warhead. He then had to slow himself to a halt to stop his viper from crashing into the _Solaris_ flight pod. He then rejoined the cluster of vipers hovering behind the _Solaris_.

Luteford rejoined the group moment later, having arrived in a less dramatic fashion.

"_Okay people, form up," _said the C.A.G from his viper. _"Let's get ready for the big charge."_

The vipers obeyed. They manoeuvred around each other into the formation that the C.A.G had discussed - twenty vipers on top of another twenty vipers. Now all they had to do was wait to be cleared by Mantis.

"_C.A.G, this is _Mantis_, Turrets reactivated. You are clear to commence the big charge."_

"_Alright, let's do it!" shouted the C.A.G._

The entire squadron moved off as one. They flew past the _Solaris_ and spread out, still in formation.

The space turrets suddenly went mad, each one launching ten missiles at once. When the missiles got in range, the vipers fired their cannons.

Warheads began exploding, but they were travelling too fast. It was clear to Giles that not everyone would be able to shoot down a missile because of their rapid approach. He had already destroyed one missile, but he saw another one heading in his direction. He looked around quickly. All the other vipers were shooting elsewhere.

_This one's mine._

He fired another burst from his cannons and succeeded in destroying the rocket.

Cannon fire from the other vipers stopped. All the warheads had been taken out.

"_Well done team," _said the C.A.G. _"Let's get back to the _Solaris_."_

And with that, the forty vipers and the raptor flew back to the _Solaris _to land.


End file.
